Shadows on the Water
by Kirii
Summary: A collection of various Percy/Nico drabbles collected from my writings on tumblr.
1. Drowning

**Drowning**

Nico had once told Hazel that his relationship with Percy was like drowning. It had seemed like a strange, morbid way to describe a relationship and it had caused the daughter of Pluto no small amount of concern for her brother if he felt his love for Percy was like drowning. She'd asked him why he would make such a comparison.

"Because that's how it is," Nico told her. His dark eyes looked over the camp from the spot where he and Hazel were perched on the roof of the temple of Pluto. He didn't look at her, just stared into the distance, as if recreating a sensation for himself as he sat there. "He's like the sea his father commands. You can be drawn to him, caught in the waves, and suddenly you're in an undercurrent because you've gone too far."

Nico had known exactly when he'd gone too far, when he'd been caught in that undercurrent and realized that he'd fallen in love with Percy Jackson; when Percy had told him that he hoped they didn't have to be enemies, after Nico had explained that he had to leave Camp Half-Blood. Nico had been careful not to let it show that he had wanted to stay, because Percy had wanted him there. He'd made his decision, but the currents were pulling him closer and closer to Percy.

"By the time you realize the waves are crashing all around you, you've already lost sight of shore," Nico continued. "The water's throwing you around and pulling you under."

Nico knew exactly when he'd been pulled under. The moment he'd come up with the plan to make Percy invincible, he knew it was because he was scared of his love for the older demigod. He'd known how powerful it was, could feel it crushing him, because he was in love with someone he couldn't have, someone he could very well lose if the war didn't go well for their side. So he'd spent the next year trying to convince Percy to swim in the Styx.

"And then you finally let yourself sink," Nico went on. "You stop fighting the water and let it claim you."

It had taken Nico far too long to stop fighting. He'd told himself for nearly two years that he had to stop loving Percy Jackson. He had to let him go. He'd fought his love for Percy tooth and nail, constantly struggling with his feelings. Through war with Kronos and war with Gaea, he'd fought his feelings when he wasn't fighting monsters and it was only when Percy finally stumbled out of Tartarus that Nico couldn't fight anymore.

Everyone had been shocked when Nico threw himself at Percy, wrapping his arms around the son of Poseidon and kissing him hard in relief. Almost everyone, actually. Percy had easily caught Nico and had kissed him back with equal force and relief. Tartarus had revealed Percy's greatest fears, they later found out, and one of them had been losing Nico without ever finding out how the son of Hades felt about him. So when Nico finally gave him his answer, Percy had been ready.

Annabeth had never fully forgiven either of them, though she was civil enough. She'd had Percy's love while it lasted and, while she'd never be able to let go of her own love for him, she moved on after a while. They were still friends, though things weren't quite the same.

Nico did feel guilty about taking Percy from her, but she wouldn't hear his apologies anymore.

"The thing is," Nico said, finally turning to Hazel. "Even though it feels like I'm drowning sometimes, Percy's always going to pull me back up."

Hazel gave a nod of understanding. "Percy's reliable in that way," she told her brother. She knew Percy would never let her brother drown, figuratively or not. "I still think it's a bit morbid."

"I get it from Dad."

The two of them shared a smile at that and, after a few moments of silence, Nico stood up and offered Hazel his hand. "Let's go. Everyone's probably waiting on us."


	2. Fevered Confessions

**Fevered Confessions**

Movie night in the Blofis-Jackson home was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a hot, wet bundle of black cloth and shadows. Right in the middle of an intense space battle, Nico di Angelo stumbled through a swirl of darkness, crumbling to the floor of the apartment with a weak groan. Sally gave a cry of surprise and threw herself off the couch, where she'd been snuggled up close to her husband to watch the movie with her boys, and hurried over to help Nico up.

"Oh, Nico!" She could tell, being a mother who had taken care of an ill son for many years, that Nico was running a fever. "Percy, help me get him to your room!"

Percy set his Coke aside and moved over to loop an arm around his half-conscious cousin. "Are you crazy, shadowing around when you're sick?" he asked with a frown on his face. "Why aren't you back at camp?"

"Mmn. Too far away," Nico mumbled, leaning against Percy. The son of Poseidon could feel the heat rolling off the younger demigod in waves; there was no way Nico should have been anywhere but in bed. "Was in…D.C. Looking for my family."

Percy knew that Nico hadn't ever given up on finding out who he was, who his mother was. Hades hadn't told him much, but it had given Nico a good lead. The war with Gaea had really set Nico back in his search, but he'd picked right back up after the seven had defeated the protogenoi goddess and put her back into her heavy sleep - hopefully, never to wake again. The son of Hades had apparently found some decent leads in Washington D.C., if he'd been there.

"Get him in bed," Sally told her son. As far as she was concerned, a sick teen took precedence; Percy could sleep on the couch until Nico was better. "You can loan him a shirt to sleep in. I'll go start some broth for him."

Nico gave a wordless nod of thanks, actually really grateful for the hospitality. He hadn't had enough energy to get to Camp Half-Blood, so he'd come to the only other place he knew he was welcome that was close to where he'd been. He trusted Percy and his parents more than anyone else, aside from Hazel, whom he hadn't wanted to worry by coming to Camp Jupiter in his fevered condition.

Percy helped Nico change into one of his shirts, a sea-blue t-shirt with a pattern of bleach-dyed jellyfish across the torso. Nico being quite a bit smaller than Percy, the shirt hung well past slight hips and long over thin, but surprisingly toned, arms. Nico crawled into the bed and curled up on his side.

"Thanks, Percy." Nico's voice was quiet and husky from a sore throat. "Sorry I ruined your night."

Percy shook his head and reached out to ruffle his hand through Nico's unruly black hair. "It's okay," he told him. Sally came in with a bowl of chicken broth she'd heated in the microwave and handed it to Percy, who managed to coax a few mouthfuls into the son of Hades. "You'll be better in no time, Nics."

Nico mumbled something in response, curling back up and hiding his face in Percy's pillow. Percy stood up and started to leave, but Nico reached out and caught hold of the hem of Percy's shirt, not letting the older teen go far. "Stay until I fall asleep?"

Percy couldn't help a small smile. It was incredibly rare that Nico let down his guard and showed how young he really was; having had his childhood torn away from him after Bianca's death, Nico had been forced to grow up too quickly and it was sometimes difficult to remember how young the son of Hades was.

"Sure."

Nico gave a light smile of his own. He closed his eyes and settled in to sleep off the fever. As he started to drift off, he attempted to thank Percy again for helping him out.

It just came out a little different than he'd intended.

"I love you."

Percy wondered for a moment if Nico realized what he'd said. When Nico didn't make an attempt to correct himself and just dozed off, Percy just gave another smile. He leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to Nico's heated forehead. "I know."


	3. Normal

**Normal**

Nico didn't even know how they'd wound up like this. One thing had led to another and, before he knew it, he and Percy were snugly fit into a bathtub not made to fit two people. The bathtub was deep and the water reached to Nico's chest as he sat between Percy's legs, back to the older demigod's chest as Percy's arms were wrapped around him. A froth of bubbles - blue bubbles - surrounded them and Nico thought everything about this was ridiculous.

"That's the point," Percy told him, when the son of Hades voiced his thoughts. "We need ridiculous sometimes. I get tired of quests and monsters and fighting for my life between homework assignments and tests and a principal who might as well be a monster ready to eat me the next time he has to call me to his office. This? This just something normal in my not-so-normal life."

Nico considered that for a moment. Normal didn't occur to him often. It was hard to imagine what was "normal" when he spent most of his time between the Underworld and Camp Half-Blood, occasionally making his way to Camp Jupiter, too. Normal for him was helping his father oversee Daedalus' work in the Asphodel and take inventory of the souls in the various parts of the Underworld. Normal for him was talking to ghosts in the graveyard. Normal for him was never being in the same place for too long, lest monsters zero in on his scent.

Normal was being with Percy, watching movies while they were curled up on the son of Poseidon's bed together with a bowl of popcorn and training together at Camp Half-Blood and pushing each other to be better. It was yelling at Percy for splashing him while he was sitting on the pier, just watching the other demigod swim. Normal was smiling at one of Percy's dumb jokes and throwing a bread roll at him during lunch because Percy was making fun of him in that dorky, loving way he did. Normal was coming over to Percy's apartment late at night because Nico was in the neighborhood and borrowing a shirt from the son of Poseidon to sleep in because Nico's clothes were filthy and in need of washing.

A blue-bubbled bath with his boyfriend might be a little ridiculous, but it was normal and Nico really had nothing to complain about.

Except for the wrinkles from sitting in the water too long.


	4. Fear

**Fear**

Nico didn't fear much. There were so few things that could shake a son of Hades. All those little fears that children had, of the dark, of thunder, of spiders or snakes, none of those frightened him. Normal demigod fears, tied to an aspect of their godly parent - spiders, heights, drowning - didn't so much as faze Nico. He'd heard others call him inhuman, for his lack of fear, but what they didn't know was that no one was truly fearless.

Everyone had something to fear.

Tartarus had taught Nico that. Monsters and Titans, figures from mythology that had been cast into the deepest depths of the Underworld, had been hard trials to get through, but it was the air around him, near toxic fumes that incite hallucinations, what had finally gotten to him. The mists of Tartarus showed him the one fear that Nico hid so well from the world.

His fear of loss.

He'd seen visions of his sisters; Bianca's death replaying before him as they had in the nightmares he'd seen when he was ten and Hazel captured and tortured, her blood spilled at the foot of Mount Olympus. Visions of his friends, Annabeth, Rachel, Tyson, Grover, and Frank, killed by Gaea's forces, along with the rest of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter both.

But worst of all, Tartarus showed him the loss of Percy Jackson. Seeing Percy beaten, cut, bled out slowly, and finally killed when there was barely any life left in him, that was what had broken Nico. It had him screaming, hands buried in his hair, sword falling to the black ground. His heart raced, pounding hard against his chest to the point where it was painful.

The love he'd harbored for Percy for the last couple of years, showing it only in the way he did everything he could to protect the son of Poseidon, was his purpose. He'd shown Percy how to gain invincibility so he could win, so he wouldn't be lost. He'd told Hazel that she could trust Percy, knowing that she would be his friend and help him where Nico couldn't. He'd gone in search of the Doors of Death to help give Percy the advantage that he and the rest of the prophecized seven would need.

It was also his weakness. If Percy was in danger, Nico would do everything in his power to help him. This nightmarish vision, seeing Percy's death, struck the son of Hades so hard that it was easy for Gaea's minions to capture him, drawn by his screams.

_Percy!_


	5. Names

**Names**

When Percy and Nico made their relationship public, it wasn't met with all sunshine and daisies. They didn't expect that it would be, knew that there would be a lot of people not pleased with it. They'd already been together for a few months and were going to stay together, no matter who didn't like it.

Then the insults came. Nico didn't make a big deal about it. A handful of campers who had been big on Percy and Annabeth being a couple would occasionally glare at the son of Hades and call him a man-stealer. One of the Ares kids called him worse. Nico would usually just throw a cold glance at anyone who insulted him, his aura of fear and death growing stronger just long enough to get them to back off.

Percy didn't even know it was going on until he heard someone fling a insult at Nico in his presence. The moment the word _catamite_ was hissed at his boyfriend, the son of Poseidon whirled around, Riptide already in hand, in sword form, glinting dangerously in the sun as he pointed the tip to the offending party.

"If I ever hear that word spoken to Nico again, you'll find out just how good I am with this," he warned the camper who had spoken. "If you have a problem with who I'm dating, get a life, okay? Do _not_ speak about my boyfriend like that, because if you or anyone else does, I'll show you exactly why you don't want to mess with me. Got it?"

The boy that had spoken gave a nod and skulked off. Percy kept his eyes narrowed at the boy's back before re-capping Riptide and slipping the pen back into his pocket before reaching for Nico's hand, tugging the son of Hades close and wrapping his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder.

"You didn't have to do that," Nico told him.

"No, I didn't," Percy agreed. "I know you can handle that stuff, but you shouldn't have to, just because you're dating me. No one has any right to insult you for that." He leaned over a pressed a kiss to the top of Nico's head, the younger demigod being several inches shorter than him still. "Besides, I'm your boyfriend. I'm supposed to stand up for you."

That brought a small smile to Nico's face, just a light curl of his lips, one of those little smiles that Percy loved to see. "Yeah, okay."


	6. Fights and Consequences

**Fights and Consequences**

It started with their break-up. Things had been tense between Nico and Percy for weeks. They'd been arguing left and right, yelling at each other in English and ancient Greek (and Italian, on Nico's part), and had even come down to bringing out their swords. The fight ended with the two of them refusing to speak to each other for a week, Nico not even showing up within 100 feet of anywhere Percy was and Percy barely sparing the son of Hades a glance when Nico was around.

It was driving their friends crazy. None of them had any clue what had happened between the two of them. Annabeth said that Percy hadn't told her anything, Travis and Connor had heard nothing from Nico, Rachel knew nothing either, having not foreseen this as the Oracle host. Whenever anyone tried to ask what was wrong, all they got was a glare or an indignant "nothing!" from whichever demigod they tried to ask.

It eventually came down to Annabeth devising a plan to force both Percy and Nico to face each other.

"It's not my most brilliant plan," she told Travis and Connor, "but it's the only plan."

"Tell us what to do," the Stolls chorused.

That's basically what led to Percy and Nico being forcibly locked into a supply closet. It was a tiny bit of space, barely large enough for one person, much less two. There was absolutely no wiggle room and Percy complained loudly about having a mop handle stabbing him between his shoulder blades. Nico fumed in silence, an angry aura radiating around him, cold and more than enough to promise that Annabeth, Travis, and Connor were all in trouble with him.

Not that it made any of them move to unlock the closet door. No, they were leaving the two of them in that closet until they made up or broke out. Travis and Connor were ready to say that Nico was going to break out, but Annabeth pointed out that Nico had the ability to shadow travel out of the closet and, yet, hadn't done so. By her logic - which was, for all intents and purposes, flawless - that meant that Nico didn't want to get out of there.

So they left Percy and Nico in the closet. The two demigods were just plain out of luck. For a long time, neither of them made any move to speak or even look at each other. At most, Percy did his best to wiggle around a bit, trying to dislodge the mop handle that was digging into his back. The only thing he really succeeded in was grinding against the younger demigod he was locked in the closet with.

"Will you _quit_ that?" Nico finally snapped.

"Why?" Percy asked. "Last I checked, you _loved_ that."

"You're a jerk."

"And you're a brat."

That set both of them off again and it only took Annabeth a couple moments to cut in, rapping her knuckles against the door, hard and loud. "Both of you, grow up!" she all but ordered them. "You're _both_ being jerks! Whatever happened, get over it! You two love each other!" She'd know; Nico was the one that Percy ultimately broke up with her for. "You may be mad, but you still love each other, so _work this out_!"

Percy and Nico exchanged glances, faces illuminated by the very dim lightbulb over their heads. To be honest, neither of them remembered what the original fight had been about; like their fathers, they were simply at odds with each other, both of them holding grudges worse than Hades himself. The thing was, throughout the fights, the heated arguments, the name calling, there had been pain all this time because they really did love each other.

Percy let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I've said some pretty nasty things to you lately and I've been a jerk."

"Yeah." Nico gave a nod. "So have I. Sorry."

Silence fell between them again for another few moments, neither of them really sure where to go with this now. Did they get back together? Technically, they'd broken up; Nico had pretty much told Percy to fuck off, they were over, a week ago. Should they work towards getting back together? Did they need to grab one of the Aphrodite kids for couple counseling?

Percy had no idea. Neither did Nico.

So they did what they thought was best.

They made out in the supply closet.


	7. Drop-ins and Listings

**Drop-ins and Listings**

Nico had a habit of dropping by unexpectedly. His ability to shadow-travel made it hard to predict when or where Percy would see the younger demigod; he could appear on the fire escape outside Percy's window, in the living room, the hallway between apartments, or just on the street. Percy would be alone one minute and the next, Nico would be there.

It wasn't that Percy minded having Nico around. Actually, he kind of enjoyed it. They'd catch up, play video games, scarf down a box of cookies or something. Sometimes, Percy could convince Nico to go to a little cafe with him for a cup of coffee - though Nico would order hot chocolate or an Italian soda, not really a coffee drinker himself. Where a lot of people found Nico unsettling to be around, Percy could spend hours with the younger teen.

The only problem was that Percy, never expecting the other demigod, would always jump at Nico's sudden arrival. He was never going to get used to it. It was the only thing about the son of Hades that scared him.

So one day, he was ready. When Nico appeared, Percy whirled around a shoved a pre-paid cellphone into the younger teen's hands. "A little warning, next time," he told Nico. "I'm listed in your contacts. Text me, turn the phone off, then come."

Nico took a moment to stare at the cellphone, hitting keys to find the contact list. He looked up at Percy, one eyebrow arched. "Why are you listed as my boyfriend?"

"I thought we should make it official," Percy grinned, holding up his own phone and showing Nico's number listed under 'boyfriend'. "Let's face it, we both know that's what's going on."

Nico considered that for a moment. "Okay."

Percy's grin widened. It was as simple as that. "Let's go down to the cafe. I'm buying."


	8. A Brother's Secret

**A Brother's Secret**

Hazel had offered to share her room with Nico when the Argo II had left Rome. She wanted to take care of her brother, help him heal and recover his strength, make sure that he was going to be alright. The last thing she wanted was to let Nico be on his own. Going through Tartarus and then spending several days stuck in a jar with only a handful of pomegranate seeds to sustain him was enough to break even the son of Hades and Hazel hated to see her brother so broken.

And although he'd appreciated her offer, Nico had turned her down with a gentle shake of his head. He'd said that he'd stay in the medical bay, recover there. Hazel had left him there after he'd fallen asleep on one of the beds, but when she'd gone to wake him up for dinner, Nico hadn't been there. She'd frantically started looking for him, considered shouting for Frank or Leo to help her find him.

She'd found him in Percy's room, curled up on the son of Poseidon's bed. The blankets were still at the foot of the bed, where Percy had kicked them the last time he'd slept there. Nico had his arms wrapped tightly around the pillow, face buried in its softness. Hazel approached her sleeping brother carefully, not wanting to wake him, and saw tracks of tears that had slipped down Nico's cheeks.

That was when she'd realized just how much more Percy's fall into Tartarus had hurt Nico than anyone else. Out of all the demigods on the Argo II, Nico had known Percy longer than anyone else, had openly admitted to admiring the son of Poseidon. It had taken seeing her brother's tears, not quite dry, for Hazel to realize that it was more than admiration Nico had for Percy; it was love. Nico was in love with Percy.

And Nico had watched the boy he loved fall into Tartarus, the place that he, himself, had only barely escaped. Hazel's heart ached for her brother and she couldn't bring herself to wake him; he'd know she'd discovered something he'd meant to be secret. Instead, she leaned forward and pressed the softest of kisses to Nico's temple as he slept on.

"He'll survive," she promised him, her voice softer than a whisper. "You'll see him again. I'll make sure of it."

If Nico heard her, he made no sign of it, other than curling Percy's pillow closer. Hazel stood upright and tiptoed back out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She'd let her brother sleep and keep his secret.


	9. In Lieu of Celebrating

**In Lieu of Celebrating**

Percy hadn't planned to do anything on his birthday. His birthday had become less and less a cause of celebration in the past couple of years; after Luke's death on his sixteenth birthday and the loss of one of his close friends so close to his seventeenth, Percy hadn't felt much like celebrating. He was still recovering from his time in Tartarus, as well, and the nightmares that haunted him from his time there made him feel less like celebrating.

He made no plans to invite friends over. His mother, wonderful, perfect Sally Jackson-Blofis, agreed to no party, but did insist on having a nice dinner with her son for his birthday. There would be presents, but it was generally understood that Percy didn't want to make his birthday a big deal. He just wanted to spend the day alone, in his room, playing video games to pass the time.

So when Nico came over, without invitation or any sort of announcement, Percy wasn't sure if he was grateful for the company or if he wanted to tell Nico to get lost. On the one hand, if there was anyone he wanted to hang out with on his birthday, it was Nico. The son of Hades understood, more than anyone else, that Percy didn't really want to celebrate his birthday; Nico had told him once that he'd stopped celebrating his own birthday after Bianca's death.

So Percy let Nico in. He heated up a bag of popcorn and led Nico into his room, where the two of them sat on the bed and grabbed controllers, playing one of Percy's select few video games. There wasn't much conversation, with Percy not in a talkative mood and Nico being less than social himself. They did talk a bit about how everyone was recovering from the end of the war - Hazel was slowly recovering from the loss of Frank, who'd sacrificed himself to close the Doors of Death; Piper and Jason were organizing peace talks with Reyna and her new co-praetor; Annabeth had broken up with Percy, unable to be around him without her own nightmares becoming worse, and gone to stay in New Rome to learn all she could about the Romans; Leo stayed at Camp Half-Blood to restore the Argo II after its long journey during the quest.

All in all, it was mostly as Percy had planned his birthday to go; quiet, playing video games for most of the day. Nico's presence, unplanned as it was, was comforting and by the end of the day, the two of them had wound up close, Nico sprawled on the bed, with Percy's head in his lap as they played their game. It was, if Percy was going to be honest, the best way to spend his birthday.

And, if he was going to be _really_ honest, there was just one way to make it even better.

Pausing the game, Percy looked up at Nico, reaching up with one arm to pull the younger demigod down a bit as he pulled himself up, and caught Nico's lips in a gentle kiss. He could feel Nico tense up a little, surprised by the kiss, and he was going to break it and apologize, but Nico shifted slightly and, almost hesitantly, started to return the kiss.

It wasn't the passionate first kiss the Aphrodite kids always gushed about. It wasn't the desperate kiss of a long-time crush _finally_ being realized. It was just a light, honest kiss, the kind that felt right - a silent confession between both of them. And when it broke, there was no sudden flood of feelings, no rush of explanation, just a small smile from Percy and a nod of understanding from Nico.

No words were really needed. That one kiss was really all that was needed.

Nico broke the silence anyways.

"That counts as your birthday present, Percy."


	10. Morning Ritual

**Prompt: **Taken from spookymajor's text post on tumblr: _"note to self don't think about your otp curled up together in bed, legs and arms all tangled together between blankets to fight off the cold and listening to the sound of rain and each other's breathing, faces buried in tangles of hair or against the other's chest/neck and pressing little kisses against their cheek or their shoulder or their neck and mumbling about how lucky they are to have the other because you will get feelings and then_ cry"  
**Note: **Mainly Percy/Nico, with mentions of past!Percy/Annabeth and implied Reyna/Annabeth.

**Morning Ritual**

It's the last week of October and the rain is pelting steadily against his window, a gentle cadence under the sounds of the morning traffic below. The sun isn't up yet and there's a chill in the room as he lays in bed; his feet, peeking out from under the blankets, are getting the brunt of the cold, where the rest of his body is warm, wrapped up as it is with a heavy comforter and the limbs of the other boy in bed with him.

Nico's body is usually so cold, Percy reflects as he watches the younger demigod sleep. It's only in the mornings, after the son of Hades has spent the night curled up against Percy, under blankets, and usually wearing one of Percy's own shirts, that Nico finally seems warm. Nico's breath is hot against Percy's skin as his head is tucked in the crook of the older boy's neck, softly exhaling and sending shivers up Percy's spine. The younger boy is smaller than him, still growing, but for the time being, just the right size to fit perfectly against the son of Poseidon.

Percy's chin rests just over the top of Nico's head, the messy strand of Nico's too-long hair tickling his skin, but he doesn't mind. He only thinks about how lucky he is to have the younger boy in his life. It had taken him long enough to realize that Nico loved him and even longer for him to realize that he loved Nico back. Nico had done so much for Percy, loving him from a distance and doing everything in his power to keep Percy alive, no matter if Percy love him back or not.

Percy had inevitably realized that he loved Nico after the son of Hades started opening up to him, hanging out with him, and beginning to laugh and smile with him. The first time Percy had heard Nico genuinely laugh had shocked the son of Poseidon, for he'd almost thought that Nico was no longer capable of laughing like that. It had reminded Percy of those days long ago, when Nico was that innocent ten-year-old who was happily unaware of the difficulties and dangers of being a half-blood.

That laugh was the first time Percy had realized how much Nico's happiness meant to him. It had made him smile, a warm feeling in his chest making him glad to hear Nico laugh. He'd gone out of his way to hear Nico laugh more, teasing the son of Hades, making jokes with him. The more he got to hear that laugh, see the smile on Nico's face, the more Percy realized that he was falling in love with the younger demigod.

He'd broken up with Annabeth by then, the two of them having grown distant after the war with Gaea, despite the plans they'd made for a future together. She'd gone to Camp Jupiter, eager to learn more about the Romans, now that the two groups had finally made peace, and the last Percy heard, she was getting close to Reyna. There was a betting pool in the Hermes cabin at Camp Half-Blood on whether the two girls were going to start dating – Percy had ten drachma on Reyna and Annabeth coming over and beating the crap out of the Stoll brothers once they heard about the bet.

Percy waited a couple of months after his break up with Annabeth to ask Nico out and, at first, the son of Hades had thought it was a bad joke, getting defensive and asking Percy if he was serious. It took a while to convince Nico that, yes, Percy was serious, but he eventually wrestled a date out of the younger demigod and they'd gone out for pizza and come to Percy's apartment for a movie after. That had been three months ago now and Percy still considered himself lucky that Nico had said yes because, honestly, he'd thought the son of Hades would punch him in the face and tell him no, after making Nico wait months, years, for Percy to like him back.

Nico had all but moved in with Percy now. Sally and Paul were all for the idea, after Percy had told them that he was bisexual and dating Nico, and they'd easily accepted Nico as part of the household. Sally had always liked the younger boy, always asking Percy how Nico was, whether Nico was getting enough to eat and enough sleep. She already considered the son of Hades part of her family and Paul, being a newcomer to the family once, had taken Nico under his wing and welcomed him in his own way.

Nico stirs in his sleep, drawing Percy's thoughts back to the present. The rain outside is getting lighter, the chill still laying siege to Percy's exposed feet, but now he has a bleary-eyed, lethargic son of Hades in his arms, blinking slowly up at him.

"What time is it?"

"5:45," Percy replies, reaching up and brushing Nico's tangled bangs from his face before pressing his lips against the younger teen's forehead. "You should go back to sleep."

Nico gives a gentle shake of his head, curling back up to Percy, face once more pressed against the son of Poseidon's neck. His lips brush against Percy's skin as he speaks, "I can't go back to sleep, I just woke up."

Percy has to suppress the shivers that want to run through his body, choosing instead to hold Nico close and press his lips against the crown of Nico's head. "It's too early to be awake."

"You're awake," Nico mumbles against his neck.

"Not the point."

Nico shifts again, turning in Percy's arms to face him. His eyes are open now, dark brown irises peeking from beneath long lashes. In the light coming in from his window, Percy can just see the faint freckles scattered over the younger demigod's nose, his favorite one laying just beneath the inner corner of Nico's right eye, larger than the others. It's cute, Percy thinks, and he likes to kiss that particular freckle. In fact, he kisses it right then, eliciting a mutter of protest from Nico.

"Stop that, you have morning breath!"

Percy laughs and pulls Nico closer, rolling onto his back so Nico is laying on top of him. "So do you," he points out teasingly. He presses a kiss to Nico's cheek, then to his nose. "I love you."

Nico wrinkles his nose at him. "Yeah, okay," he murmurs. He leans in and presses his lips against Percy's in a long, slow kiss. "Love you, too."

Percy smiles in triumph, loving it every time he gets Nico to say that. His hands run up Nico's back, slipping under the blue shirt the younger demigod had stolen from him the previous night – the one with the box jellyfish, fittingly; the deadliest jellyfish for the son of the Lord of the Dead. He lets his hands stop right at Nico's shoulder blades, palms flat against still warm skin.

"How did I get so lucky to have you?" he asks.

Nico's lips quirk up in a small smile. "I ask myself the same question a lot."

However the two of them might have gotten lucky enough to have one another, Nico had Percy and Percy had Nico. That was all that mattered that morning, with the rain pattering against the window, fall chill nipping at exposed limbs, and lips brushing against each other in a morning ritual neither intended to give up any time soon.


	11. Trick or Treat

**Author's Note: **Wrote this as a quick "cheer me up" because my Halloween has been pretty crappy. Least I can do is give someone some happy Halloween Percico. Short and sweet!

* * *

Percy loved Halloween. He might be considered a little old now for trick-or-treating, but he would never grow out of dressing up. He'd gone pirate this year and sat in the living room with a bowl of assorted candy goodies, waiting for the doorbell to ring. The great thing about the apartment building was that the kids in the building all went up and down the halls, costumed up and grinning for candy.

He'd counted the number of boys dressed up as super heroes, girls dressed up as princesses, gave bonus candy to any kid who broke gender roles - the little girl dressed up as Thor and the boy happily wearing Cinderella's ballgown had both gotten big handfuls of treats.

Every so often, another teenager would ring the doorbell, completely disregarding the societal concept that trick-or-treating was "for kids". Percy would have gone himself this year, except Sally and Paul were out at a costume party with some of Paul's colleagues and Percy refused to leave the apartment unmanned when there were kids hoping for candy.

_Riiiiiing!_

"Trick or treat!" chorused a trio of kids - a boy dressed as a vampire, one dressed as a pirate (there was a quick exchange of "Arr!" between him and Percy), and a little girl, no more than four, in what was arguably the best zombie costume Percy had seen all day.

Candy was tossed in bags and the kids scampered away, leaving Percy to return to the couch. There was a monster movie marathon going on and Percy was just about to tune back in when the doorbell rang again.

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_

Picking up the bowl of candy, Percy returned to door. When he opened it, none other than Nico di Angelo stood there, dressed in his usual black attire. The only notable difference was the intricately painted skull mask that covered the upper part of the son of Hades' face. Percy couldn't help grinning, glad to see his boyfriend.

"Trick or treat," Nico smirked.

"Treat." Percy pulled Nico inside, pushing the door closed and pressing a light kiss against the younger teen's lips. "I thought you were hanging out with Hazel tonight?"

"She told me, and I quote," Nico paused to clear his throat, "'if you don't go see Percy tonight, I'll lay a little voodoo on you.'"

Percy laughed and pulled Nico closer, wrapping his arm around the younger teen's waist. "She might actually do it."

Nico gave a slight smile. "Nah, she loves me too much."

Percy smiled back and led Nico over to the couch. "C'mon," he told the other demigod. "I think that was the last group of kids in the building just before you got here. We've got a ton of candy left and _Frankenstein_'s on next."


End file.
